Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Marvel vs. Capcom 2

There's a rumor floating around that Marvel vs. Capcom 2 might be making its way to both PS3 and Xbox 360. If true, this is huge.

First released in 2000 to arcades and the Dreamcast, the classic 2-D fighter has been extremely hard to find for years now. A legitimate "like new" copy for the long dead Dreamcast now typically goes for twenty dollars over original retail. The PS2 and Xbox versions are even rarer, as they were released in incredibly limited supply, most likely due to Marvel's exorbitant licensing fees. These same licensing issues had made it appear unlikely that it would ever see another release on console. Perhaps Marvel has had a change of heart in the face of the utter shamelessness that is Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe. (An idea so crazy that it just might work! Oh wait, it already did. Twelve years ago. Back when that other iconic fighting series teamed with that other superhero universe.) Whatever the case, I'm very much hoping that this rumor is true, despite the fact that I already own both the Dreamcast and PS2 versions.

When I was a game tester, one of my favorite parts of the job was the fighting game sessions during breaks. Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike was the popular title for most of my time there, but there was a period when everybody was playing Marvel vs. Capcom 2. There were two players with substantial arcade experience, whom I absolutely could not beat, but they rarely participated. Over the rest of the building, I probably held a 9:1 advantage or better.

No, I wasn't at all good at the game. In lieu of skill, I counted on the basic principle that the average player had no idea how to cope with Captain Commando flying off the sidelines and pounding the ground every second. Essentially, I was thrashing weak players by pressing just one button repeatedly to summon my assist character over and over again. Having Cable as my point character was little more than a bluff.

One day, a new guy showed up and started impressing people with his flashy Magneto combos, which I could appreciate better than most of the spectators. While nitwits were still deluding themselves into thinking Spider-Man could compete, I knew enough about the game to know that, in the right hands, Magneto was one of the most dangerous characters. I had believed him, however, to be unplayable on a control pad, yet this guy was pulling combos off at will.

After he had built up a streak of three victories, my turn came up. I picked my usual team of Cable, Captain Commando, and a random third. I proceeded with my strategy of pretending like I could use Cable, while actually relying on Captain Commando to nail them. The result? I swept his Magneto/Storm/Psylocke team and never once got hit with a Magneto combo. Evidently, this guy's game was just for exhibitions and fools. He had clearly put a lot of time into practicing his combos, but it didn't matter, because he had no idea how real matches played out.

Incredulous, the next break, he had the nerve to challenge me to face his friend, also a Magneto player, who was supposedly much better. Sure enough, his friend was better. But the result was the same. Thus, I managed to beat two far more technically skilled players through savvy and the most basic "strategy" in the game. Can't wait to do the same thing online.